Yes Peggy. Stay away from the hot thing. Far away.:D

Congrats on the new home Frau Kaleun. Looks like some of the homes I've looked at here in Delaware a few years ago. But I know that's not possible. ;)

BTW.. did you get a Home Warranty included with the purchase? That could save you some money if things go bad and need repair or replacing. Sometimes the seller will include it to make the sale a little sweeter.

All the curtains will go eventually, as soon as I get blinds or something in place. The first time we looked at the place my best friend was with me and she walked in, looked at the window treatments, and said, "Well... somebody's grandma lived here."

The funny part is that it turned out the current owner is a lady who is a year or two younger than her. :haha:

I like the flooring there, in fact if it had been my decision I would have put it down all the way into the dining room and not had carpet in there at all, I'm not crazy about carpet in a room where the primary activity is eating and drinking. Altho TBH I do most of that in front of the TV or computer when I'm alone and those rooms will likely stay carpeted even if I replace what's currently there.

The only rugs I'd put down in a kitchen are the rugs/mats for providing comfort in front of the sink or other places where I'm likely to stand for any length of time. I have no idea how difficult the current kitchen flooring will be to take care of so I guess I'll see once I get in there. My brother in law did carpet and flooring for most of his adult life until he started working at Lowe's and if I want to make a change he knows where to get stuff at a discount and how to install it - or where to find an installer who'll do it as a side job for a fraction of what it would cost to go through the usual retailers.

It is a bit small but since the only thing going in there will probably be a table for 4 (maybe six with an extension) and some small decor type stuff, it's not too bad. I thought at first I might use it for a small TV room but it's too small to put any decent amount of seating in for that. If I use it for the dining table I can put counter stools or chairs up along the outside of the counter separating the kitchen from the dinette and eat there if I want something more casual just for myself.

The rest of that space... I don't know. Probably some kind of nice kitchen storage, like a casual hutch for good dishes (I have a set of china I've never been able to display since the day I got it). It will likely be full of unpacked boxes for a while. :O:

The flip-up countertop - no. Any spaces designed to be moved through, I like them to obstacle-free. I'm more likely to take doors down than to add more stuff that I have to push, pull, or lift out of my way just to walk from room to room. I'm already considering removing the door to the master bathroom because right now the only way to sit comfortably on the toilet or get into the tub/shower is to go in and completely close the door behind you, which I can tell you will quickly become a PITA when I'm going in and out of there trying to get ready for work in the morning.

The only access to it is through the walk-in closet and "dressing area" of the master BR, so I see no reason to have a door like that when all it does is get in the way. Obviously I'd like to replace it with something that allows for privacy in that room if necessary but ME NO LIKE THAT DOOR.

I'm not sure security cameras are included in the small list of things you're allowed to attach to the exterior. Also nothing outside the walls belongs to me, so there might be an issue with recording the activities of people who are going about their own business on common property.

I like to live dangerously, lol.

At any rate, not until after all upstairs furniture gets moved in.

Yep, the fact that it was an end unit was a big selling point. If the interior of the next unit is like mine, there's a good chance that most of the shared wall in my master bedroom is up against their walk-in closet and not the bedroom proper. An extra layer of "insulation" against noise intrusion (in either direction).

And honestly in my apartment, the chief problems with noise come from neighbors living above and occasionally those below, the ones to the side might as well not even be there as far as I can tell. Not having anyone else living above or below me was one of my must-haves. After 18 years of apartment living, I've had enough of that.

Wait, I thought she was German. :hmmm:

Now that I think about it, I have no idea why. :oops:

The For Sale sign on the property has a big "Home Warranty Included" notice on it, or something to that effect. If nothing else it's written into the contract that one will be included at the expense of the seller up to a specified amount which was $425 IIRC.

Thinking back on when I read through the HOA manual, it may be something that is included because it's covered in the HOA fees. I'm pretty sure there was something in there about that. Anyway - it's covered in the purchase contract so I think I'm good.

Because my user name is "Frau Kaleun" and my rank is "Valkyrie"? Those would be pretty good reasons. :D

Wouldn't that be walküre?

Be careful. You don't want her to go all Wagner on you.

Technically, yes, but that spelling is far less recognizable to English speakers and using "valkyrie" generally avoids the necessity of explanations.

Also there is no "ü" on my keyboard and pulling up Character Map is a PITA. :O:

Ride of the Valkyries

Just gonna stick this in here..... This is actually one of my favorite Classical pieces.

I'm pretty sure that's explicitly prohibited somewhere in the small print of the Eighth Amendment.

Have you heard the whole opera?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5RqfFPWSrE

And then the whole cycle as well?

I Das Rheingold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_jfE2XUDug

II Die Walküre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5RqfFPWSrE

III Siegfried: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXIY1VFAbJI

IV Götterdämmerung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PM3evhj3Kc

The above are the Bayreuth recordings with Georg Solti, my favorite Wagnerian conductor, and my second favorite recordings, right behind the 60's studio recordings.

Here are PDF liner notes, synopsis and libretto for each opera, both in original German and English:

I http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%203054.pdf
II http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%203038.pdf
III http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%203045.pdf
IV http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%203060.pdf

This is a good beginner's primer for the leitmotif and usage within the cycle.

http://www.well.com/user/woodman/sin.../themusic.html

For the more initiated, here are three excellent books; the first on the cycle itself, the second a compilation of his rather prolific writing catalogue and the third a dedicated harmonic and philosophical anaylsis of middle to late Wagner.

1. I Saw the World End, Derek Cooke, Oxford University Press, New York, 1979 http://www.amazon.com/Saw-World-End-...+the+world+end

2. Wagner on Music and Drama--A Compendium of Richard Wagner's Prose Works, Albert Goldman/Everet Sprinchorn, Da Capo Press, New York, 1964 http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Music-D...usic+and+drama

3. The Tristan Chord--Wagner and Philosophy, Bryan Magee, Holt, London, 2000
http://www.amazon.com/Tristan-Chord-...+tristan+chord


And if you like what you hear and read, you can see it live at the Met this spring: http://ringcycle.metoperafamily.org/tickets

Happy listening!

PS Sorry for the thread hijack Frau.

AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have time to sit and listen to all that right now. I don't even have time to read this thread any more tonight, but every time I try to get off, there's another post! :O:

Brought to mind an old Smothers Brothers routine where they sang the tune "Volga BoatMen". In the course of the routine , Tommy would talk about the Volga boatmen and their drinking of vodka. Dick would correct Tommy's pronuciation by pointing out the "v" is pronounced as a "w" sound. Tommy then went on to pronounce the words as Wolga and Wodka. Dick asked what the Wolga boatmen would do to relax, "Well, they wold sing and dance and drink wodka; and if they drank too much wodka, they would womit..."...

I have seen perfomances on DVD and on PBS. Some of the DVD performances are a bit old school (horned viking helmets, etc.) and some are modern "interpretations". I really dislike when they try to moderenize Wagner, almost as much I dislike when they modernize Shakespeare. I fear it is only a matter of time before they do a "hip-hop" Ring Cycle...

Frau, sorry for responding to the previous hijacking of the thread...

Your new home looks very nice and I wish you a very pleasant life in your new digs, I was very surpised at how much of a "home" it appears; here, in Southern California, units like yours are often called townhouses and the name condo is given to the high and low rise buildings where the units are little more than glorified apartments. Continued happiness to you...

<O>

Do not listen to the heathen Wagnerite.

You want Beethoven. You need Beethoven. Your soul craves Beethoven.

Cross over, children. All are welcome. All welcome. Go into the Beethoven. There is peace and serenity in the Beethoven.

Here's me, listening to the beginning of the overture of every Wagner opera ever:

"Hey... this isn't too bad. Maybe I'll really like this one."

Here's me, 45 minutes later:

"OH DEAR GOD PLEASE LET IT END."

:O:

Actually "Ride" is pretty awesome, I used it for the ringtone on my old cell phone. Wagner does have some wonderful moments (and some terrible quarter-hours *cue rim shot*). I like some of the purely orchestral suites I've heard, with all of the singing - or "singing" as the case may be, YMMV - left out.